Archive for september, 2006

With a panic for more books I am calling the big transport company X now. Waiting for more ONE books (they have sold out in Sweden and UK). The reason is that I will go up on stage to hold a lecture today. Here is the answer I got in costumer service, why they don’t make the delivery in 3 days that should take 2 days:

“The reason to why it don’t function is that our company is so big!”

I did respond that first of all you are not big compared to DHL and second, why does it function with DHL and not your company? Then they said it not only your packed we have to handle… Then I said if you only handle 1 packed you would not have been to big to fix so it would arrived to day… Sad how some company totally destroy consumer loyalty with their behavior. Have to run now and borrow some books in bookshops (I mean does how are not are to big to handle the situation).

Update 29 September:
The lecture could not get a better audience; it was the woman business network Shenet. Founded by the legendary Swedish net worker Maria Forssén. Big thanks to the bookstore Konst-ig for borrow me so many ONE books (they did sold out this evening to good net workers).

What is more direct than to be ONE with your costumers? Here is five steps to start working towards becoming ONE.

1. Don’t be an Anti-brand
The brands and elite of the business world are today’s aristocracy. Consumers have started to rise up and demand their fair share of what they have helped to create. This time the French revolution is a global consumer revolution. Many anti-brands may soon be staring up the business end of a guillotine. The difference is that today’s guillotine is much sharper and in the hands of mass media working with consumers and the Internet. Some heads have already rolled: Enron, WorldCom, Shell, and Exxon. Who’s next? Microsoft, Nike, McDonalds?

2. When did you last meet a CEO with a company tattoo?
The gap between consumers and corporations is as wide as the Grand Canyon, full of missed opportunities just waiting to be converted into big business. What channels do you have for input from consumers – open door a big success factor in the open source that today’s consumers live in today. Open up for consumers to show and share their passion for your brand.

3. Consumers will not be reduced to10110010101101011100
The computer has made it possible to barcode consumers. CRM and One-to-One was born with a whole new set of rules for today’s marketers. Work with the consumer from the start and include their passion for your brand.

4. Work with not against the transparence market
In today’s transparent market, bad marketing can sink even the unsinkable Titanic company. Intel was close to going under because one consumer complained about its Pentium processor. Small fishes swim together for safety. ONE shows how both corporations and their customers can swim together to prosper from the coming consumer revolution. Two examples of companies that swim well with their customers are Dell and eBay. Consumer power has also become a major component in the increasingly sensitive stock market. Positive buzz and enthusiastic consumer support can raise stock prices. A few percentage points can mean billions of dollars for many companies.

5. Leave your office today!
History has shown us that when the bicycle came to the village, in-breeding disappeared. Villagers now had a larger area in which to find mates. Today, there are unlimited opportunities for finding new mates when it is easier to move from company to consumer.

More steps are found in my book, ONE – A Consumer Revolution for Business.

It is a really good name Secret Service for doing Secret Service. The problem is that other companies are doing the same. Offering Secret Service that costumers can’t find. Most big companies have in my experience around 7-25% Secret Services, what I mean with this is that they don’t connect their services with the consumers.At a time in my work carrier I started to work for a big company. At a meeting around our services they said that we have to stop offering this service to our costumer now. I said why? And they responded no body is buying it! That is so strange I said because as a costumer to this companies I have been asking for this services but never been told that you have it for me to buy. Another reason for why it is secret is often internal politics (some will not promote an good service/product if it makes the “wrong people” heroes). They would do a better job working for the real Secret Service, they are searching for people like that here.The effect this secret offers is that they cannot develop (adapt) it to the consumers needs. So what did they do? They let go off the product, some years later it shows up at a research that the costumers are asking for it and then they put it on the market with a new name on it.How many % of your companies are Secret Services?

Spending this a summer home in Sweden was really nice; since I cant remember a more sunny summer. It also interesting to talk with tourist and guide visiting friends, they always see thinks I miss for I live here. Outsiders are not home blind and see more dimensions of the same thinks you miss because you now too much. It is the same good “not now dimension” as consumers are having, and they are consuming Sweden (ore your country). Walk around with them and you will find new opportunities and dimensions.

Do we go away to come home?

Did talk with some American tourist, they al did almost always say the same thing: “Everything is so clean and organized, its unreal. Sweden gives me a strange feeling of being home at Disney Land.” They pointed out the safe feeling being out at night in cities like Stockholm.

If Disney Land was a country, should then Mickey Mouse be the president?

The Americans made me think about Swedish brands like Volvo and Saab that has develop some of the safest car in the world. Why? We do have so much safety already in Sweden, but we do have some moose lose and a weather that changes faster than you can turn your car around. This need for safety is here still even if we haven’t been to a war nearly sense the Vikings got old. Safety is a big part of the Swedish culture.Compare country cultures and corporate cultures where is the biggest connections?

Today you can choice between if you like to have it in color ore scan it on your Xerox. But wouldn’t it be great if you could translate to any languages when you make your copy and get it out on paper (ore scan it to your computer). It is not rocket science, you can do it today: Take an empty Xerox and put a friend how talks many languages in it. Then another to test it to someone how don’t now about the translator in the machine… then you can get it out in a new language. That will take you 10 minutes to set up, how long time will it take for Xerox to make it work?

“You will love this book as well. But only if you are prepared to open your mind, and take on the wealth of ideas. Like fellow thinker Edward de Bono, Engeseth likes to provoke and generate a reaction.” Brand Strategy(download the whole book review of ONE).

ONE of the strongest brands on earth is sadly getting in the “to big club.” In the latest number of the magazine Brand Strategy (issue 205), are they reporting about an warning form Google not to use their brand name in an wrong way! They don’t want it to become generic (can passion be generic?). Media and consumers should stop using “to google” and “googling” they are doing this to protect the trademark (like losing touch with media and consumers should help their brand).

Today I got 7 030 000 hits on “googling” and 57 800 000 “to google” in Google. That counts on the media and consumer’s stock value!

When I did an interview with a Google fan how named his kid Google I felt strongly for that the Google office in Stockholm invited him to their office to show their youngest fan. Today he may have meet some lawyers that wouldn’t “googling” with his kid…

“Intellectual property concerns are important but creating a personable identity is even more vital.”Ruth Mortimer, Editor, Brand Strategy